Norihiko Ikeda is an internationally recognized thoracic surgeon with specific expertise in minimally invasive thoracic surgery and comprehensive early detection procedures for lung cancer. He graduated from Tokyo Medical University in 1986, and went on to obtain his PhD there in 1990. Dr. Ikeda has been a staff surgeon at Tokyo Medical University since 1991.He was also a visiting Fellow at the British Columbia Cancer Research Centre in 1992, and was also abroad working in the Department of Surgery in Vancouver, British Columbia, before returning to Tokyo Medical University in 2002.

Between 2005 and 2007 Dr. Ikeda served as Professor in the department of Thoracic Oncology and Surgery at the International University of Health and Welfare, Mita Hospital. He was named Professor and Chairman of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Tokyo Medical University in 2008. His primary research interests are in the field of early lung cancer detection.

Dr. Ikeda is a member of numerous Japanese medical and surgical associations, and is on the board of directors of the World Association for Bronchology and the Japan Society for Respiratory Endoscopy. In 2005, he received the Shigeto Ikeda Memorial Award from the Japan Society for Respiratory Endoscopy. Dr. Ikeda has been instrumental in helping develop and disseminate the Essential Bronchoscopist© in Japan, and has a keen interest in developing educational modalities on a broad scale. He is also interested in humanitarian aid projects, and was recently invited to join the Board of Directors of the World Bronchology Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the World Association for Bronchology.